@RazorbackMTEN Defeated by Auburn in First Round of SEC Tournament

BY Razorback Communications

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 13-seeded University of Arkansas men’s tennis team concluded its 2014-15 season as it fell, 4-2, to No. 12-seeded Auburn in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on Wednesday.

“I’m very proud of my team,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “It’s very hard to lose so much and keep investing and fighting and improving. My players did that and they should hold their heads high. We are on the right path and we are going to build something special here as Razorbacks.”

With the loss the Razorbacks fell to 11-16 overall, while the Tigers improved to 15-12 on the season. As the victor, Auburn will face No. 5-seeded Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

The match was a battle from start to finish, beginning with a heated doubles point. Arkansas claimed the first victory of the day as junior William Albanese and sophomore Johan den Toom bettered Petar Tomic and Dante Saleh, 6-3, in the No. 3 spot. The Tigers pushed back as Oliver Plaskett and Lukas Ollert netted a 6-3 win over senior Jovan Parlic and junior Giammarco Micolani. Collecting the point for Arkansas was the duo of junior Santiago Munoz and freshman Branch Terrell. The Razorback pair played through a close tiebreaker to defeat Marko Krickovic and Maxime Hinnisdaels, 7-6 (8-6), in the No. 1 position.

Auburn took control from Arkansas in singles, winning courts three and one in straight sets to bring the score to 2-1. Shortly after, Razorback sophomore Juan Marino won a convincing two-set match over Tomic, 6-4, 6-4.

With the match tied at two, Munoz, Parlic and freshman David Herrerias were forced into third sets. Munoz fought back from a 6-3 first set loss to win by the same score in his second against Krickovic. However, Munoz could not hold on and fell 6-3 in the third set. After coming out victorious in the first set, Herrerias fell to Plaskett in the second. Herrerias battled in the third, but could not keep up with Plaskett who won 6-3 to clinch the match for the Tigers. Parlic led 3-2 in his final set when play was called.